Dempagumi.inc, Otaku Stars of the J-pop World!

We’re ecstatic to welcome to our HYPER JAPAN Festival the idol pop group Dempagumi.inc, whose female members are passionate not only about music, but otaku culture and J-fashion as well! Six girls in total make up the group: Mirin Furukawa, Risa Aizawa, Nemu Yumemi, Eimi Naruse, Ayane Fujisaki, and Moga Mogami. Every member is a hardcore otaku, whether for games, anime, manga or cosplay, and they all still actively pursue their various passions alongside their singing career. From their humble origins as performers at Akihabara’s idol live house Dear Stage, the girls have now hit it big internationally, and have performed at concerts throughout Asia and in the US. Their domestic popularity continues to soar as well; last year they performed a solo concert to an audience of 10,000 fans at Tokyo’s prestigious Nippon Budokan, and their recent music releases continue to rank well within the Top 10 in Japan’s music charts (see here for their British iTunes).

The idol-sceptics among you will probably be thinking ‘Isn’t this just a less populous version of AKB48?’, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. What’s fascinating about these outwardly energy-filled singing and dancing bundles of joy is that they have all struggled with extreme shyness and feelings of solitude, and used to hide themselves away in their otaku hobbies. Getting involved in pop music at Dear Stage gave them motivation to face the world, and now they use their songs to inspire fans to be more courageous in their lives as well. It’s certainly a message which resonates with many people, and the way which Dempagumi.inc packages their advice in a joyous explosion of synthesised beats is simply irresistible for like-minded otaku and casual J-pop fans alike.

Dempagumi.inc will be performing in our HYPER Live area, and there will be a dazzling art installation themed around the group in our HYPER Gallery during each day of the event. Don’t miss out this unique opportunity to see the girls live on stage, and support them in both their musical and artistic endeavours!